#modernworld

Could the barter economy be a lie? I am very curious about your thoughts as well; let’s dive in. We’ve always been told that before money was invented, people bartered: you’d give a chicken to get an axe, and when that became too difficult, they invented money. In his book Debt, David Graeber argues anthropologically that this isn't how it happened—claiming that a "barter society" has never actually existed (anthropologist Caroline Humphrey also notes there is no evidence of a pure barter economy). According to Graeber, the origin of money isn't trade, but war and debt.

Graeber suggests that money was actually invented to measure debt. Take Sumer, for example: let’s say you’re a farmer and you take a bag of wheat from me, but you don't have anything of value to give back at that moment. A debt is formed between us. How do we measure this debt? This is where money enters the picture not as physical currency, but as an abstract unit. You say the wheat is worth 10 units of silver. You don't actually hand over silver; instead, a debt of 10 units is recorded. There is no physical coin, but money exists as a unit of measurement, and debt exists as a relationship. Graeber explains that money was born out of the need for bookkeeping.

According to Graeber, as long as people knew each other (in small villages, towns, or tribes), this bookkeeping (debt) system worked perfectly. No one was tossing gold coins at each other. But what happened when people who didn’t know or trust each other met? For instance, if an outsider came to buy goods, you wouldn’t say, "I’ll put it on your tab, pay me later." You’d demand something of immediate value. This is where uncoined precious metals pieces of gold and silver came into play.

In short: first came debt (trust and promises between people), then accounting units were invented to measure that debt. Finally, physical money (coinage) was invented to manage this debt with strangers and armies.

So why is the world full of metal coins? Graeber’s answer is blunt: War. A king had to feed thousands of soldiers. He couldn’t just tell peasants to give the soldiers free food. Instead, he minted metal coins with his own stamp, gave them to the soldiers, and told the peasants: "At the end of the year, you must pay your taxes with these metal coins." To earn those coins, the peasants were forced to sell food to the soldiers. In essence, markets were systems established by states to make feeding their armies easier.

The most interesting part is that in these ancient societies (Sumer, Babylon, etc.), when debts became unsustainable, kings would declare a "Jubilee" and cancel all debts. Today, we say the economy would collapse if credit debts were erased; back then, they erased debts specifically so the system wouldn’t collapse.

Furthermore, debt used to be a sign of friendship and mutual bond. Once the armed state got involved, debt became a "sacred duty" that had to be paid, which eventually led to slavery. In the past, people who couldn't pay their debts sold themselves or their children into slavery. Today, we sell 30–40 years of our lives to an employer to pay off credit cards and student loans. What’s the difference? It used to be called slavery; now it’s called a "career." Today, we become indebted just to enter the system.

If you have debt, you aren't truly free. Throughout history, slavery has always been justified through debt. For example: "I didn't kill you in war, so you owe me your life; you will pay this debt by working for me forever." This is the ancestor of the modern logic: "I give you a wage, therefore your time belongs to me."

(I know this text is a bit more disorganized than my previous articles; I’ve wanted to write about this for a long time and had this draft sitting for over a month. I hope you enjoyed it.)

Source;

The Neighbourhood | Portgas D Ace x Reader (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/story/394015009-the-neighbourhood-portgas-d-ace-x-reader?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_myworks&wp_uname=cinnamoonbluewtp

You moved to one of the biggest cities in the world - Grand Line to pursue filmmaking career. Soon enough your path will cross with the vocalist of upcoming band called “The Neighbourhood”. At first you decided to be just friends - because it would be easier, but sadly as everything in life sometimes by taking the easy path we regret a lot of things.

Okay, so for quite some time I have been thinking about this. Maybe I’m the only one but i want to see Hindu mythology in a modern setting. Like all the gods and goddess down to earth. Like what would they be in this modern world and how would they go about situations. 

Someone please write me a modern hindu mythology story. 

Book FOR SALE ~ W T Stace (1952) Religion + Modern Mind * Science Philosophy v Divine Principles

https://www.ebay.com/itm/384675968971

She is the creator of manhood, she is the creator of kindness, and if we put it this way, she is simply the creator of man (hood) + kind (ness) = MANKIND.  Yes, she is no one else, she is a woman. But, do we really consider it as a fact or just a thought? If we consider it just as a thought, do we ponder upon it and if we consider it as a fact, do we really believe in it?

Feminism, Women Empowerment and Women Safety are about ensuring dignity, health and happiness of women and to assert their equality and human rights. From the epic sagas time till now, woman have always been objectified. From Draupadi, being a wife for five husbands, pledged like a chattel at a game of dice, disrobed and harassed in front of her husbands, to this day woman, every female is still objectified and harassed, either physically or mentally. I had always wondered why almost every Hindu god had two wives. What was the example that our religion values or the epic stories teach us? Sita was so loyal to Rama, went to the forest with him, remained calm when harassed by Ravana, and still she was asked to walk on fire to prove her chastity. Is this the kind of precedence that we or our future needs to grow up with?

The crimes against women are many. Eve-teasing is almost considered as a right by most men in India. Dowry deaths still take place. Minor girls are being yoked into matrimony at the cost of their health, happiness and dreams. And now, crimes like brutal rape, acid attacks and honour-killings seem to be becoming almost a fashion! And the easy excuse for this is that our culture is getting spoiled. And the culture is getting spoiled because women today wear short clothes, use mobile phones, go out at nights, and go to pubs. Nobody stops to think that our clothes and manners are ‘result’ of cultural change, not the ‘cause’ of it. How ironical it is that in a country that worships girls as goddesses, female foeticide is still a norm in many regions. And even when girls are allowed to take birth, they are denied the right to live with dignity and pride and to choose their own way of life.

Where are we heading to? People think that women are denied that freedom only in backward rural regions. But that is not true. Even in urban areas and in educated families, girls and women are told at every step what they should or should not do. Wear this, don’t wear this. Go there, don’t go there. Talk like this, don’t talk like this. Do this, learn this. Don’t fall in love. Get married in 20s, have a baby. Even if a girl has studied hard to establish a good career, she’s supposed to give it all up if her in-laws or husband don’t like her working or her baby is needed to be  taken care of. And if the girls don’t follow the established rules, they are indecent, immoral, selfish and so on. She is being criticized for everything. Many girls are denied even that basic right of education. And lack of education shackles them forever to the dependence upon their family and male relatives. If she does not have a career or is so dependent, she can easily be treated as inferior and not deserving of the respect and dignity that men readily consider as their prerogative.

The magnanimity of the issue faced by women was seen in the #metoo campaign. Former Congress MP Renuka Chowdhary said that the casting couch is a reality that exists across sectors and even Parliament is not ‘immune’ to it. With increase in the number of rapes and domestic abuse at all fronts, what is more needed for a woman? Many feel that sex education must be a part of the curriculum. Teach your sons to respect a women and teach your daughter to be self-confident, independent. Teach her a martial art so that she can protect herself. Stand against movies that show a hero stalking, abusing women, or passing derogatory remarks or jokes. Talk to your daughters and make them understand that they should not feel embarrassed to talk about any harassment or untoward incidents which happened to them. More than all of this, the mindset of the people has to change. Yes, I accept that there has been many changes and women are treated with respect in many places. Still, we have miles to cross before we can pat on our backs. Right to choose is what empowerment and safety means to me. Freedom to be able to choose, knowledge to be able to choose well, power to follow and explore my choices and decisions, a safe environment where I can walk on without fear and an opportunity to be respected for who I am and what I achieve, not for who I belong to.